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ALL QUESTIONS ANSWERED THREAD

Napoleon_tiny by John Sickels on in News

Here is an All Questions Answered Thread

  1. ONE question per poster. This will be enforced.
  2. Don't try and cram multiple questions into a single question, if you know what I mean. Shorter questions are easier to answer than long ones.
  3. Begin posting questions now (11:45 AM CST). The cutoff will be 2:00 PM CST, no questions posted after 2:00 PM CST will be answered.

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Better Hitting Prospect
Who do you think has the greater likelihood of being a consistent .300+ hitter in the major leagues - Moustakas or Wieters?

by dmitri on Feb 19, 2008 12:50 PM EST   0 recs

.300
There is no objective evidence to go on given lack of professional data in both cases. In terms of scouting, I haven't seen either one enough to judge. Any answer I give would just be BS.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 1:11 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Scott Lewis
Do you think Scott Lewis' arm will ever recover to the point where he will be considered as a possible FOR pitcher as he was in college before the arm troubles?

by sdtribefan on Feb 19, 2008 12:52 PM EST   0 recs

lewis
I don't think he'll pick up enough velocity to be a top-notch rotation guy. He could be a fourth/fifth starter type.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 1:13 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Alvarez
Where would Pedro Alvarez rate among your top 50 hitters at this point?

by hfunderburke on Feb 19, 2008 12:52 PM EST   0 recs

alvarez
Hmm....somewhere in the 30s right now. Would have to see what he does this year, etc.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 1:14 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Tim Alderson
How high is his ceiling?

by playingwithfire on Feb 19, 2008 12:54 PM EST   0 recs

role
Depends on the role. If used in relief, an above average major league closer with excellent control. If used as a starter, probably a number three guy.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 1:16 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Fun question
Do you ever partake in any fantasy leagues with other people from the industry ?(or even with friends from home)
-1 and only member of the Jed Lowrie fan club!

by Jgaztambide on Feb 19, 2008 12:54 PM EST   0 recs

leagues
I used to do this, but I never had enough time to devote to it, and by the middle of the season I would be neglecting my roster. I also found myself focusing too much on rookies and prospects and would always invest too much in them. It wasn't fair to the other players to do this, so I no longer participate in fantasy leagues. Sometimes I will play in an historical simulation league with old-time players, but I haven't played an active fantasy game in years.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 1:18 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Japan
Thanks as always for doing these.  In your opinion, who will be next in the line of great Japanese imports (Ichiro, Matsuzaka, etc.)?

by Yakker on Feb 19, 2008 12:55 PM EST   0 recs

japan
My knowledge of Japanese baseball is too limited to speculate about this. Sorry.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 1:31 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Cubs Youngsters
Who has the better year in 08, Soto or Pie?  Both fantasy stats-wise and real world baseball-wise.  Mahalo

Matt

I reject your reality and substitute my own.

by WayneCampbell05 on Feb 19, 2008 12:55 PM EST   0 recs

soto
I think I will go with Soto slightly better than Pie this year, though Pie will be better in the long run. I think both should be decent, but Soto has a bit less to learn.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 1:32 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Thanks
I'd be great if both worked out well for this year and beyond.  Mahalo

Matt

I reject your reality and substitute my own.

by WayneCampbell05 on Feb 20, 2008 12:13 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

top 5 (or 10) prospects in 12 months
Depending on how much time you have to answer the 200+ questions, any level of detail is fine.

Top 5 or 10 prospects in 2009, in order or not.

by Galt on Feb 19, 2008 12:56 PM EST   0 recs

2009
Assuming that people aren't promoted ahead of schedule, and NOT including potential 2008 draftees.

Hitters:

Wieters
Teagarden
Lars Anderson
Elvis Andrus
Triunfel

Pitchers:
Kershaw
Price
McGee
Tillman
Latos (sleeper to move forward)

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 1:35 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Who do you like better for a 'bounce-back' season?
Chris Nelson or Reid Brignac?

I thought Briggy did ok last year, but many were disappointed...

by daveh33 on Feb 19, 2008 12:58 PM EST   0 recs

hmmm, maybe Nelson's 'break-out' was in 07
if I can please rephrase that....

If you had to pick a player to back for a stellar campaign in 08, would you take Briggy, Nelson, or Dexter Fowler?

by daveh33 on Feb 19, 2008 1:01 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

breakout
Hmm. Well I like all of those guys. Exact comparison is difficult since only Brignac has played in Double-A. I would say that I think Nelson has the highest potential CEILING of the group, while Brignac's floor is probably a bit higher. Fowler I have major questions about his power.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 1:54 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Twins
You were named GM of the Twins on February 1, 2006. What do you do different than what's been done since then?
I won't get married until the Red Sox win the World Series. AGAIN!!

by Shep on Feb 19, 2008 12:59 PM EST   0 recs

GM
That's a great question but to answer it I would have to go back and look at a list of all their transactions.

I would definitely have tried to lock Santana up. If I couldn't, I would probably have taken the alleged Red Sox offer this past fall. I'd have signed Mauer long-term, but I'm not certain I would have signed Morneau to the big long-term deal, since it is easier to find a first baseman who can hit. I would have let Torii go.

I'm not sure what I would have done about a potenital Garza/Delmon deal. I had mixed feelings about that. I suppose I would have done it ultimately.

For drafting, look at my shadow drafts for ideas about what I'd do there.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 1:57 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Wilson Ramos
I noticed you didn't include him in your Twins top 20; a miss on your part, or are you not a believer?  BA has him as the number 3 Twins prospect, and in a poll I did on this site, 15 percent thought he was an A/A- prospect, 64 percent a B-/B/B+ prospect, and  18 percent a C/C+ prospect.  How would you grade him?

by gogotabata on Feb 19, 2008 12:59 PM EST   0 recs

ramos
I'd give him a Grade C+/B- at this point, wanting to see more. BA raves about him certainly. On the other hand, Midwest League people I talked with last summer who saw teams I didn't get to see didn't mention him as a top prospect at all.

I SHOULD have put him in the book but didn't do so. This was a mistake. I pride myself especially on my knowledge of the Twins system being a big fan of the organization since 1977, but for some reason he got past me. Every year there are some guys that should definitely be in the book but who get overlooked for one reason or another. In the coming weeks I will be writing more about Ramos and other guys that I should have paid more attention to.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 2:03 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Stephen Drew
offensively what can we expect over the next three years...above or below tulo?
http://www.simdynasty.com/index.jsp?refer=mychiefs58

by huckleberry on Feb 19, 2008 12:59 PM EST   0 recs

drew
Hmm...I'll take the under.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 2:17 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

carlos quentin
projection and/or general thoughts on him for this season?

by larry on Feb 19, 2008 1:00 PM EST   0 recs

health
Health is the main thing I worry about for him. If healthy, I'd say something like .270/.340/.460. I think he's capable of more than that a year or two down the road.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 2:19 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Two draft picks or
the actual Santana trade?
1941 .406

by FrozenTed9 on Feb 19, 2008 1:00 PM EST   0 recs

trade
Well let's see.

Santana trade netted four prospects. Two of them (Guerra and Gomez) have the physical ability to be stars, but with major question marks. The other two (Mulvey and Humber) won't be stars but should be useful.

Could you beat that with two draft picks? Depends on the picks obviously. But these wouldn't be super premium, top ten picks, they'd be mid range guys, no guarantee that you'd get anyone better than the four you got.

I'd take the real Santana deal over the draft picks.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 2:23 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Thanks I have
been following a long argument about this and I thought the drafts pick argument was absurd.
1941 .406

by FrozenTed9 on Feb 19, 2008 3:43 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Dodger Breakout Prospect
Who is your choice to be the Dodgers' breakout prospect this year? Thank you.

by kinbote on Feb 19, 2008 1:02 PM EST   0 recs

dejesus
Ivan DeJesus. Great glove. Some offensive potential, good plate discipline, still very young.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 2:25 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

2007 draft
Please rank the top 10 prospects from the 2007 draft.  A list alone is fine, as I'm sure you'll be pressed for time.  Thanks.

by ElGuapito on Feb 19, 2008 1:03 PM EST   0 recs

draft
Wieters
Price
Moustakas
Heyward
Porcello
LaPorta
Parker
Vitters
Detwiler
Cecil
Dominguez

OFF THE CUFF

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 2:36 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Allen Craig
John,

What type of projection do you see for Allen Craig?

Thank you.

by southboundpachyderm on Feb 19, 2008 1:06 PM EST   0 recs

craig
I like Craig a lot and rate him as a big sleeper in the book. Not sure where he fits defesnively, but I like his power a great deal and I think he will continue to hit at higher levels. Very much an unsung prospect.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 2:39 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Mat Latos
coming off his very good debut season, do you think he will continue his success in High A ball and does he have a chance to reach AA in '08?

by Wheelhouse on Feb 19, 2008 1:06 PM EST   0 recs

Latos
I like Latos a lot and he is a big breakthrough candidate if he stays healthy. I would not push him to Double-A this year unless he's just incredibly dominant. Don't know if the Padres agree with that or not. If he stays healthy and sharpens his command a bit more, he could be a top ten prospect eventually.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 2:40 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Alderson or Bumgarner
Pick one, your arch rival gets the other, Alderson or Bumgarner?

by Deputy Dingleberry on Feb 19, 2008 1:07 PM EST   0 recs

toughie
Toughie. I gave Alderson a higher grade in the book due to more polish but Bumgarner has a higher ceiling, if more risk.

I'd take Bumgarner right now.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 2:42 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Tigers Shortstops
Who will be starting at Short for the Tigers after Edgar Rentaria leaves(assuming we don't go after a free agent)?

Thanks John.

by demondeaconbaseball on Feb 19, 2008 1:08 PM EST   0 recs

worth
Of current candidate I would go with Worth.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 2:57 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Wlad Balentien
low-average, poor defense slugger?
MLB regular, league ave. defense, but nothing spectacular?
or all-star slugger, with ave. defense (or better)?

by marc w on Feb 19, 2008 1:10 PM EST   0 recs

wlad
I'd go midway between option two and option three.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 2:58 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Alexi Casilla
Do you think he will develop into a utility type middle infielder or fulfill his potential as an impact .280 hitting speedster with leather?

by cboy on Feb 19, 2008 1:11 PM EST   0 recs

util
I think utility work is more likely at this point.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 2:59 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Tough Question here...
Alexi Ramirez or Danny Richar?

by boknows on Feb 19, 2008 1:14 PM EST   0 recs

Lester
How about a off-the-cuff prediction of Lester's 2008 season line...

by Dfarth on Feb 19, 2008 1:14 PM EST   0 recs

lester
hmmm..

26 games, 19 starts, 117 innings, 117 hits, 94/63 K/BB, 4.54 ERA, 8-8.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 3:03 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Rickie Weeks?
Can you please project the next four years' worth of stats for a healthy Rickie Weeks? Years ago, he was said to be the next Gary Sheffield. Is there still truth to that?
On the lookout for minor-league sleepers ...

by psugator01 on Feb 19, 2008 1:14 PM EST   0 recs

weeks
Injuries have really banged him up.

Wild guessing

2008  .275/.370/.445
2009  .265/.359/.435
2010  .283/.378/.467
2011  .295/.380/.475

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 3:05 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

gomez
Ceiling....would be a .280-.300 guy with 20 homers, 20 steals, adequate strike zone judgment, and excellent defense.

Floor: Angel Berroa.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 1:15 PM EST   0 recs

Oakland
Who should emerge as the Oakland rotation by midseason?  Assuming Blanton is moved, there's Harden and...
What is your best guess as to who ends up getting innings for them?
Thanks John.
JAS

by jasvlm on Feb 19, 2008 1:16 PM EST   0 recs

rotation
would suspect that Gio Gonzalez would be up pretty quick if he does well in Triple-A. James Simmons could also be up fast if he keeps pitching well.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 3:07 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Job
Have you ever been offered a job by an MLB team?

by colinadam on Feb 19, 2008 1:19 PM EST   0 recs

Rays 3 headed SP Monster on the way ...
Of Davis, McGee and Price: in what order would you put them for expected IPs in MLB this year (if any)?

Thanks for everything , John ...

Paul Householder, Gary Redus, Tommy Lawless, Duane Walker ... prospects rawk!

by design28 on Feb 19, 2008 1:20 PM EST   0 recs

innings
Geez. toughie.

Davis, Price, McGee.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 3:13 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Adenhart
After a so-so debut in AA, how do you think Adenhart does this season?

by spoondoggie on Feb 19, 2008 1:23 PM EST   0 recs

adenhart
Hmm...my guess, fast start in Triple-A, pitches great in April and May, starts to slump in June, promoted to the majors to fill a gap in July, hit hard, goes back to Triple-A, pitches well in August, comes back to the majors in September, shut down with a tired arm after one or two decent starts.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 3:14 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Andy Marte
Starting 3B by midseason?  That career up through his age 21 AAA season can't be a complete fluke, can it (ie, players get bored repeating levels)?

by kwoog on Feb 19, 2008 1:23 PM EST   0 recs

marte
I'm giving up on Marte.

Which means he'll hit .297 with 27 homers for the Indians, lol.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 3:15 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Dioneer Navarro
Navarro has certainly had an interesting last couple of years. First he becomes a HUGE prospect with the Yanks, then traded, struggles, and the world forgets about him. Yet his second half numbers last year point to a big 08 season. Did all of us overhype him while he was in the minors, or was his adjustment time to the bigs just longer than most?

Thanks so much.

by avpro05 on Feb 19, 2008 1:24 PM EST   0 recs

catchers
Catchers are weird and often fail to develop along expected lines offensively. He was great in August and September but I want to see more before totally buying into him again. John Buck had a great April and May and it didn't mean his overall skills had changed.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 3:20 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

'08 draft
Your top 10 '08 draft prospects?

by bhoov on Feb 19, 2008 1:27 PM EST   0 recs

too early
I haven't focused on this yet.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 3:21 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Question
As somebody who understands the value of prospects, how do you generally evaluate trades that involve prospects for established major leaguers? To put it another way, do you think that fanbases tend to over-estimate the value of prospects, or do you think the reverse - that we tend to over-value known names?

by mrkupe on Feb 19, 2008 1:27 PM EST   0 recs

prospects
Well, the thing is you CAN'T fairly evaluate a prospect-laden trade for at least two or three years and sometimes longer. Everyone has panned the Santana trade, but it is simply too early to know if it's a failure or not. Who knows...what if Guerra blows out his elbow, but at the same time Mulvey improves his command from very good to superb and emerges as a legitimate number one starter? Stranger things have happened.

As I get older, I'm more and more comfortable with the answer "I don't know yet.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 3:24 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Rays rotation
Thanks for doing another AQA.

By 2009, you'll probably see Kazmir, Shields, Garza, Price, McGee and Davis all ready for the majors.  Assuming none of them gets traded or injured, which one do you think is most likely to end up in the bullpen?

Vogt early, Vogt often.

by Brickhaus on Feb 19, 2008 1:33 PM EST   0 recs

wow
Wow, you look at it like that, the thing really stands out how much talent they have ammassed.

Garza and Shields perhaps.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 3:27 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

mcgee
McGee too, if his changeup becomes an issue.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 3:27 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Pitching peripherals
Please rank these stats in importance for judging ML potential(in your opinion).

K/9, K/BB, H/9, WHIP, GB%, HR/9, BB/9, anything else really important you look at.

My first mistake was assuming you knew what I was talking about.

by Shamus on Feb 19, 2008 1:34 PM EST   0 recs

numbers
No magic numbers. They are ALL important and can't be seperated out, you have to look at every one.

The one I look at least is WHIP.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 3:29 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

Jermaine Mitchell
breakout potential (how much), given the nice numbers in very tough environment?

by bootsy on Feb 19, 2008 1:35 PM EST   0 recs

mitchell
I rate him as a sleeper and breakout candidate in the book. Limiting factor is age, but I agree, he's a breakout guy and could put up strong numbers in the Cal League. I'd rate his breakout potential as "significant" but not "assured."

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 3:32 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

You're the GM of the M's
Would you have done the Bedard trade or was it too rich?

by montenegro on Feb 19, 2008 1:35 PM EST   0 recs

Ms
I would not have done the trade. Very short-sighted in my view.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 3:33 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

James McDonald
Ceiling?

by dodgem on Feb 19, 2008 1:35 PM EST   0 recs

mcdonald
number two starter.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 3:33 PM EST to parent up   0 recs

2008 draft
Do you think there will be fewer 'signability' concerns this year as more teams give up following the slotting system?

by t ball on Feb 19, 2008 1:38 PM EST   0 recs

Travis Snider tools
On a 20-80 scale, can you break down how Snider rates and projects in terms of hitting, power, running, throwing, and fielding?

by parrot11 on Feb 19, 2008 1:39 PM EST   0 recs

snider
Well I prefer using Seven Skills rather than Five Tools, but if you insist.

Projection
Hitting 60
Power 65-70
Running 50
Throwing 50
Fielding 55

Now, to do that right I would want to see him play several times and watch video and really focus on the scouting numbers. I don't normally use the 20-80 scale. It's traditional of course but I don't think it is detailed enough.

by John Sickels on Feb 19, 2008 3:41 PM EST to parent up   0 recs